The Photographs of Hugh Mangum, 1897-1922: In Collaboration with MB Abram Galleries

Sep 7 - Oct 23, 2021
Installation Views
Press Release
Where We Find Ourselves Photographs of Hugh Mangum (1877-1922)
 
This exhibition, presented in collaboration with MB Abram, will be on view at ACA Galleries from September 7 through October 23, 2021.  A monograph, (University of North Carolina Press in association with Duke University, 2019), will be available.
 
For the first time an exclusive limited edition of select photographs of Hugh Mangum, authorized and certified by the David M. Rubenstein Library, owner of the glass plate negatives will be available. 
 
Mangum worked in Durham, North Carolina, and Virginia, in the Jim Crow South between 1897 and 1922. He defied every social and artistic tradition of his place and time.  When racial segregation, discrimination, and violence against African Americans had become the order of the day in the post Reconstruction South, Hugh Mangum maintained an open door policy, photographing blacks, whites, rich and poor, straight and gay without distinction. He began his career just a year before the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, in which a mob overthrew the elected government of the city, burned the only black-owned newspaper and murdered more than sixty people.
 
Undeterred by prevailing social mores, Mangum welcomed all to sit before his lens. He was also a keen self-portraitist, turning the camera on himself with surprising and playful results.
 
Mangum began his professional life as an itinerant photographer working with a Penny Picture portrait camera. His traveling studio had a straight-forward approach: affordable pictures, quickly produced, day or night, rain or shine, no records kept of those portrayed. He pitched his tent in town after town, photographing people of all colors and walks of life at prices that allowed even the most humble to afford his services. 
 
To economize, Mangum partitioned his negatives, allowing the images of multiple subjects to be recorded on a single sheet of glass. Citizens who could not drink at the same water fountain as their neighbors, are here seated side by side, fulfilling momentarily the peaceful aspirations of gospel songs so well known in the day. Mangum provided an opening for the dignity of every individual to shine. His welcoming approach allowed sitters to express themselves as they wished, without kitschy props and devoid of the grotesque racial characterizations so common in his lifetime. One hundred years later we are privileged to experience the dreams of a time perhaps not so distant as we may think.
 
Overview
ACA Galleries, in collaboration with MB Abram, is pleased to present an exhibition of photographs by Hugh Mangum (1897-1922), on view September 7 through October 23, 2021.
 
For the first time an exclusive limited edition of select photographs of Hugh Mangum, authorized and certified by the David M. Rubenstein Library at Duke University, owner of the glass plate negatives will be available.
 
Mangum worked in Durham, North Carolina, and Virginia, in the Jim Crow South between 1897 and 1922. He defied every social and artistic tradition of his place and time. When racial segregation, discrimination, and violence against African Americans had become the order of the day in the post Reconstruction South, Hugh Mangum maintained an open door policy, photographing blacks, whites, rich and poor, straight and gay without distinction.
 
After his death at the age of 44, Mangum's glass plate negatives remained stored in his studio inside a family tobacco packing barn, where they were forgotten for almost fifty years. A monograph, (University of North Carolina Press in association with Duke University, 2019), will be available.
Artworks
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 01, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 x 12 in. 40.6 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 01, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 x 12 in.
    40.6 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 02, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 x 15 in. 40.6 x 38.1 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 02, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 x 15 in.
    40.6 x 38.1 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 03, 2021 Archival pigment print 51 1/2 x 40 in. 130.8 x 101.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 03, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    51 1/2 x 40 in.
    130.8 x 101.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 04, 2021 Archival pigment print 14 x 33 in. 35.6 x 83.8 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 04, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    14 x 33 in.
    35.6 x 83.8 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 05, 2021 Archival pigment print 50 x 40 in. 127.0 x 101.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 05, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    50 x 40 in.
    127.0 x 101.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 06, 2021 Archival pigment print 17 x 11 1/2 in. 43.2 x 29.2 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 06, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    17 x 11 1/2 in.
    43.2 x 29.2 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 07, 2021 Archival pigment print 17 x 13 in. 43.2 x 33.0 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 07, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    17 x 13 in.
    43.2 x 33.0 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 08, 2021 Archival pigment print 14 x 14 in. 35.6 x 35.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 08, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    14 x 14 in.
    35.6 x 35.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 09, 2021 Archival pigment print 22 x 28 in. 55.9 x 71.1 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 09, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    22 x 28 in.
    55.9 x 71.1 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 10, 2021 Archival pigment print 28 x 42 in. 71.1 x 106.7 cm 2/10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 10, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    28 x 42 in.
    71.1 x 106.7 cm
    2/10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 11, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 x 12 in. 40.6 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 11, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 x 12 in.
    40.6 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 12, 2021 Archival pigment print 26 x 36 in. 66.0 x 91.4 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 12, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    26 x 36 in.
    66.0 x 91.4 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 13, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 x 16 in. 40.6 x 40.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 13, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 x 16 in.
    40.6 x 40.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 14, 2021 Archival pigment print 50 x 40 in. 127.0 x 101.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 14, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    50 x 40 in.
    127.0 x 101.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 15, 2021 Archival pigment print 26 x 17 in. 66.0 x 43.2 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 15, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    26 x 17 in.
    66.0 x 43.2 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 16, 2021 Archival pigment print 24 x 36 in. 61.0 x 91.4 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 16, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    24 x 36 in.
    61.0 x 91.4 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 17, 2021 Archival pigment print 15 x 12 in. 38.1 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 17, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    15 x 12 in.
    38.1 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 18, 2021 Archival pigment print 15 1/2 x 12 in. 39.4 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 18, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    15 1/2 x 12 in.
    39.4 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 19, 2021 Archival pigment print 15 1/2 x 12 in. 39.4 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 19, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    15 1/2 x 12 in.
    39.4 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 20, 2021 Archival pigment print 40 x 52 in. 101.6 x 132.1 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 20, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    40 x 52 in.
    101.6 x 132.1 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 21, 2021 Archival pigment print 14 x 14 in. 35.6 x 35.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 21, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    14 x 14 in.
    35.6 x 35.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 22, 2021 Archival pigment print 56 x 40 in. 142.2 x 101.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 22, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    56 x 40 in.
    142.2 x 101.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 23, 2021 Archival pigment print 56 x 40 in. 142.2 x 101.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 23, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    56 x 40 in.
    142.2 x 101.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 24, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 x 12 in. 40.6 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 24, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 x 12 in.
    40.6 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 25, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 x 12 in. 40.6 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 25, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 x 12 in.
    40.6 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 26, 2021 Archival pigment print 14 x 21 in. 35.6 x 53.3 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 26, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    14 x 21 in.
    35.6 x 53.3 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 27, 2021 Archival pigment print 17 x 12 1/2 in. 43.2 x 31.8 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 27, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    17 x 12 1/2 in.
    43.2 x 31.8 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 28, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 x 12 in. 40.6 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 28, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 x 12 in.
    40.6 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 29, 2021 Archival pigment print 15 1/2 x 12 in. 39.4 x 30.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 29, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    15 1/2 x 12 in.
    39.4 x 30.5 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 30, 2021 Archival pigment print 55 1/2 x 40 in. 141.0 x 101.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 30, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    55 1/2 x 40 in.
    141.0 x 101.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 31, 2021 Archival pigment print 9 1/2 x 14 in. 24.1 x 35.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 31, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    9 1/2 x 14 in.
    24.1 x 35.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 32, 2021 Archival pigment print 14 x 14 in. 35.6 x 35.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 32, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    14 x 14 in.
    35.6 x 35.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 33, 2021 Archival pigment print 56 x 40 in. 142.2 x 101.6 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 33, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    56 x 40 in.
    142.2 x 101.6 cm
    10
  • Hugh Mangum Untitled 34, 2021 Archival pigment print 16 1/2 x 25 in. 41.9 x 63.5 cm 10
    Hugh Mangum
    Untitled 34, 2021
    Archival pigment print
    16 1/2 x 25 in.
    41.9 x 63.5 cm
    10